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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;Clawcoins, post: 26541424, member: 77814&quot;]I used to work in automotive in the mid 1990 through late 2008.</p><p>Back when there was a big shift to lower labor cost global areas.</p><p>We added a plant in manufacturing China and CAD design work in India.</p><p><br /></p><p>If I recall my numbers, in general.</p><p>US labor + benefits was $29 / hour</p><p>Mexico labor + benefits was $19 / hour - the US &amp; Mexico plants were within eyesight of each other.</p><p>And our China labor + benefits was $0.55 cents per hour.</p><p><br /></p><p>Of course there is that time delay to get prototype items from China.</p><p>But 3D printing was just starting so I added a 3D printing to our design dept eliminating the high cost of making molds and overnight global shipping.</p><p><br /></p><p>The US can bring back manufacturing.&nbsp; But I think the price won&#039;t be globally competitive for general items. There has been alot of shifting over the years in manufacturing segments .. to lower cost Mexico, then Japan, South Korea, China, Thailand, etc.&nbsp; The global companies are still keeping labor costs low for higher profits. Usually once envrionmental laws start growing manufacturing likes to move to lower cost, lower controlled areas.</p><p><br /></p><p>With all else being equal, a product made in China will be cheaper (even with logistics) than the same product made in the US.</p><p>And we learned long ago about people and their buying habits.&nbsp; I recall the short &quot;uproar&quot; of when people learned that Walmart&#039;s &quot;made in the US&quot; stuff was made in China. But the prices were low.&nbsp; And people prefer low prices.</p><p><br /></p><p>A weaker dollar will make our products cheaper overseas, but it may not be for long.</p><p><br /></p><p>Gold and other precious metals lately, to me, have moved into the &quot;crypto&quot; mentality. but then foreign countries have been upping their own reserves being part of the equation to push $/ounce higher.&nbsp; I used to make market models on a variety of market segments in order to &quot;time the market&quot;</p><p>What i&#039;ve learned, in retrospect, is that I&#039;m always leaving out some input that normally is not important, until it is and becomes a primary cost driver.</p><p><br /></p><p>I&#039;m just glad that I built up my coin collection, which alot of it is in silver/gold before prices got too steep.&nbsp; Now i&#039;m just trying to fill in the gaps but that gold price per ounce is a killer right now and I wouldn&#039;t mind a 50% drop.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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